


Time to Tell

by Hyghenia



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: F/M, Gen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-02-12
Updated: 2020-02-12
Packaged: 2021-02-28 04:41:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 4,851
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22678114
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Hyghenia/pseuds/Hyghenia
Summary: Ladybug decides it's time to tell their parents that they're superheroes.
Relationships: Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir/Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug, Alya Césaire/Nino Lahiffe
Kudos: 21





	1. Time to Tell | 1

**Author's Note:**

> Post Season 3, Spoiler territory.
> 
> My first long-story attempt! Woo.

“I… I think it’s time.”  
Chat’s head immediately went on red alert. Time? For us to go on a date? Fooor… a cat tree? For him to know she’d been holding back feelings for him? That she was dying? She was actually a 50-year-old woman, dying from a strange disease? That she was allergic to cats? That she hated him? She wanted a different Chat Noir!? That she could never fall for him because she actually liked girls too?  
His mind slowed at that, as much as he hated to admit it he did think he didn’t mind that as much. It’d be easier to move on, right? They could become closer friends by talking about who they’d be interested in dating. What was that game Nino was always trying to play? Kiss, Marry, Kill? He tried to hold back the, uh, darker side that was definitely into the idea of Ladybug and another girl.  
Coughing quickly to try and clear the train wreck his thoughts had just turned into, Chat started, “and that would be…?” The tail-end of his question curled up, patiently waiting to see where his Lady’s mind was. Definitely a better idea than leaving him alone to decide.  
“I think it’s time, that we told someone. About this.” Ladybug twirled her hand around, gesturing to Paris. But, on top of roofs high above where anyone normally could go, ‘this’ definitely carried more weight.  
“You mean you’re ready to find out who we are, under... the masks?”  
Ladybug still stared out over the city, biting her lip. She seemed, hesitant, deep in thought? As though she was still deciding on that. Chat’s heart fell a bit that she wasn’t dying to know who he was, that she didn’t think he could handle a secret.  
“…No.” She finally replied. “No. I’ve… seen a future where we know. It’s not good.”  
Chat tilted his head in confusion. Seen? Was Ladybug psychic? If she could see the future did she already know who he was. Was that why she didn’t want to know. Was that why they worked so well-she already knew what he was going to do? Did she have other powers. Outside of the superhero ones, could she move things with her mind. Or, or could she read peoples thoughts. His mind slowed at that as he looked sidelong at her and internally screamed, ‘if you can hear this, say a weird food…’  
Ladybug looked at him as he thought of strange dishes and fruits. She sighed. Even though she had decided to tell him she had seen the wrecked world that would happen if he and Adrien found out he secret identity, she hadn’t fully thought of how to explain that she had seen that. And now he looked confused and lost in thought.  
That was, she thought he was lost in thought till he murmured, “avocado…” A side of her face scrunched up at him, if he wasn’t trying to figure out how she had seen the future, what was he puzzling over? And why in the world did it involve avocados?  
Chat’s eyes blew wide as he realized he’d said it allowed, “uh, sorry. I was running physic tests.”  
Ladybug was confused before chuckling at him, “normally don’t mind-reading tests stay inside your head? And what was the question, what’s your favorite green food?”  
Chat adjusted how he was sitting, “it was… weirdest food.”  
Ladybug paused, looked at him for a moment before she was clutching her stomach laughing. “And avocado is your weirdest food?”  
Chat looked indignantly at her laughing form, “Their basically all fruit-meat! But have the tiniest protection, and they don’t need to have a seed that big!”  
Chat continued to expound on the weirdness of the avocado while Ladybug’s laughing fit died down. Before she wiped her eyes and dropped the avocado topic.  
“Thanks, Chat”  
He looked over and smiled at her. “Anytime, Bug.” After a sigh he looked out over the rooftops, “so if you can’t read minds, you are able to see the future?”  
Ladybug huffed a quick laugh at that, after all, this was her life now. Explaining she couldn’t see the future but that she knew someone who could.  
“No, you remember Bunnix? The Miraculous holder from the future. Past? A past-future? A future… past…” Her head hurt as she tried to decide if because she was originally from the future she was a future holder, but she had spent majority of history in a Stasis-Egyptian tomb thing.  
“OH! Right her” Chat recalled the whirlwind of a day meeting that particular teammate had been. “I thought we only met her once?”  
Ladybug shifted around a bit trying to find the words to explain she had missions without Chat beside her.  
“She, needed my help.” She closed her eyes and tried to get all the information out. If she couldn’t see him reacting she wouldn’t have to stop and explain at every point.  
“So a bit ago I made a mistake, which we all do, but apparently this little mistake caused the end of the world. So Bunnix had to come get me to help her discover what that mistake was so that time wouldn’t collapse onto itself and all dimensions wouldn’t cave into each other… or something.”  
A deep breath and Ladybug peaked over at him. He looked stunned but still listening.  
Sighing she continued. “I made a dumb mistake that lead to that boy I like realizing I’m Ladybug,” Chat’s eyes rose at her, but he let her continue explaining. “We figured out he must have told someone who told someone, and so on till you-Chat-found out my identity and… well I don’t know many details because, future… secrets… timey-wimey. Chat, you got akumatized and blew up Paris. At least Paris. Definitely the moon too.”  
Ladybug’s posture caved into herself somehow. This had been a big secret for her, and it had not been an easy one. She had seen the post-end of the world, and had seen that it was her partners fault. That he had been fine, she’d seen he had destroyed at least their city, and had gone about his day as though nothing had changed. Still sitting on rooftops, humming to himself while he sat alone.  
Chat sat speechless next to her. How do you explain why you destroyed the entire world? In a different dimension? Err… a different timeline. Which wasn’t better, that meant it was him, not even some dark or nether-version.  
They sat together silently looking over Paris. Paris who didn’t know that it could have been under water. Birds flew, plants grew, and life continued.  
“So…” Chat began after what felt like a world-ending long time. Heh.  
Ladybug looked over at him before reaching out to his hand. They sat a bit longer, her hand over his. Him leaning towards her, just staring over the city they were to protect.  
Chat’s mind was decidedly calm considering he was currently contemplating how he could end the world.  
Ladybug broke the silence this time, by saying “avocados are a better weird food.”  
The two looked at each other’s faces before breaking into laughter again. Because what else can you do when faced with the end of the world.


	2. Time to Tell | 2

Chat vaulted into his room through the normal window and was back to being Adrien before his feet hit the floor. He looked around his room with new eyes. They hadn’t talked about who Ladybug wanted to tell, and he had no ideas of who he would even want to bring into his chaotic life. But he was definitely more focused on the tidbit of information that Ladybug had told him. If he found out who she was, he ended the world. Or, more accurately, if he found out she liked someone else, and he found out from the grapevine, he ended the world.  
Finding out who Ladybug was from a tabloid did seem like a worst-case-scenario. But not on end-the-world levels. Unless he didn’t like what he learned. Chloe? Maybe Ayla’s guess from ages ago was right? He wanted to say no, Ladybug couldn’t possibly be his longest friend. He... didn’t like her as much. In fact, he was starting to think the term ‘friend’ wasn’t exactly what he’d refer to Chloe as now. But now he had the information that once he found out he didn’t like who she was. Didn’t like he wasn’t the one she told. That he didn’t like it enough that he got akumatized for it.  
Shaking his head, a bit to try and clear his thoughts instead he thought of Ladybug. How long had she been holding this secret to herself? A literal world-ending secret. No wonder she wanted to tell someone some of her secrets.  
***  
“Tikki! I forgot to talk to him about telling our parents!” Marinette cried into her pillow. She had worked up so much nerve to tell him that, no, I don’t want to tell you. The partner I trust to understand my craziest plans, and to have my back. I want to tell my parents that on a regular basis I’m sneaking out of my room late at night to race across rooftops with my leather-clad cat-friend.  
Looking up from her pillow she scanned her room for the floating blob of power. She was more surprised that Tikki wasn’t right next to her head and ready to give her wise sagely advice. Tikki was hovering near her work desk, admiring her latest designs.  
“Tikki! I need help!”  
Tikki spun round and towards her, and floated in the usual space next to Marinette’s freak-out corner. “Marinette, you told him you were thinking about telling someone, and then told him you saw him end the world! I think you’re allowed to stop talking at that.”  
Tikki bobbed a bit as she thought more on the strange situation, “I hope Plagg is helping that poor boy, you know it wasn’t easy on you after coming back from that timeline.”  
Marinette froze. She stood suddenly. Then she sat back down again. Right, she had told him she wanted to tell people their secret identities. Before then telling him she had told her crush, even if she hadn’t meant to he had found out. And he hadn’t kept it a secret. And then she had told Chat, ‘hey you know how you’ve always wanted to know, and we assumed that one another would be the first to know? Haha ya that didn’t happen, and you ended the world!’ at which she had then left him alone to deal with that.  
She crushed he face back into her pillow. Her legs came up round her head this time. Trying to crush her along with all of her emotions and regret.  
Tikki hovered nearby and patted the top of Marinette’s head while she groaned into her freak-out pillow. Marinette used the pillow for sleeping too, but Tikki could swear she’d seen her use it for freaking out more often than she actually saw her sleeping on it.  
Lifting her head from her cocoon of tension, Marinette looked up at Tikki with tired eyes, “how can I fix this, Tikki!”  
Tikki’s heart fluttered for her chosen. Tikki knew she could not be doing well, and still Marinette was worried over her partner. “I’m sure it will be okay, give him some time to process the whole end-of-the-world situation and then bring up telling your parents again.”  
Marinette’s groan at that didn’t sound as pained, and returning to her freak-out pillow she didn’t use her entire body to crash into herself. Progress!  
Eventually the two superheroes were able to calm their minds and go to sleep. Both were grateful that the next day, or more accurately later that same day, was a break day.  
***  
Adrien woke early, later than his usual schedule, but still when the sun wasn’t as up. He got out of bed, and headed to his bathroom to start his mourning routine.  
As he went through the routine he frowned and tried to remember the strange dream he had. There was one with the orange fruits following him. Not just oranges, there was an orange banana, some giant orange lettuces had rolled down the streets after him too, but the leaves would break away quickly. Some giant orange vegetables too. He was able to remember the dream ended when he’d gotten stuck on an orange avocado pit, the pit alone was the size of Notre Dame, and the fruit-meat had been so gooey he couldn’t figure a way off before he woke up.  
Or had that been an akuma? Using one hand to bring up the Ladyblog he searched for clues to whether or not the orange fruits dream had been a dream or not, continuing to brush his teeth with the other.  
No sign of an akuma last night, so the orange food party had been his own weird imagination, not Hawkmoth’s.  
He put his phone down and focused on making sure his back teeth were clean and rinsed his mouth with some mouthwash. Then he looked into the mirror and tried to figure out if there was more he was trying to remember.  
Plagg floated into view behind him, watching Adrien stare at himself in the mirror. Finishing off the slice of cheese he had Plagg finally asked, “you practicing the ‘pensive’ look for a shoot?”  
Adrien hung his head, “No, I feel like I’m forgetting something that happened?”  
Plagg hummed in thought and hovered closer to the boy. He breathed out towards him with his mouth open. If he was going to help his boy remember, he wanted to even out the kind with some cheesy-breath.  
“Maybe that you ended the world?”  
Adrien’s whole body froze a bit. It was lucky he had been examining himself so closely in the mirror, if he hadn’t been leveraged against the bathroom counters Plagg wasn’t sure he’d have remained upright.  
“…Right. I ended the world. And Ladybug wants to tell someone she’s Ladybug.”  
Happy to have helped, Plagg phased through the door, off to find another cheese wedge to celebrate.


	3. Time to Tell | 3

Adrien allowed himself some time. He just sat in his bathroom. Afraid if he moved he’d set off the end of the world. Who could say he couldn’t. It had sounded like even Ladybug didn’t know exactly what had happened to get him akumatized. And then to destroy the world.  
He wanted to be able to go ask her more. Understand what had happened, know how to make sure he didn’t again… or for the first time? But he couldn’t, because if he moved the world would end.  
After a while he eased to the floor. He had lowered himself slowly, if a butterfly could create a tornado he didn’t want to create a... bigger tornado. Frozen to the floor instead of thinking more about the end of the world he didn’t know any more about. He instead realized how much more dangerous a butterfly could be than causing tornados. Sure stormy weather caused a few tornados, but apparently a butterfly could also end the world. And she had said the moon got destroyed too? That couldn’t have been good news.  
It was better if he just stayed on the floor.  
***  
Marinette was late. She leapt out of bed with the usual panic, and raced to get dressed. She almost mixed up her toothbrush and hairbrush, again. But caught herself. And then paused. And then she breathed. It was a break day. After a few calming breaths she resumed getting ready, but at a much less harried pace. She was late, but Ayla wouldn’t give her a detention for being a few minutes late to study. Ayla probably wouldn’t even blink if she hadn’t heard from Marinette until a half-hour after when they said to meet.  
Marinette eyed her bed, it was probably even still warm…  
***  
As his phone ringed Adrien almost jumped in surprise. But he didn’t jump, because what if that set off the end of the world? Slowly he reached above him to the bathroom counter. He had gotten a text from Nino, asking if he was awake, ready, and heading to their small study-group.  
He groaned. Why did he keep himself so busy, even on break days? But then he remembered that he did want to see his friends. Adrien tried to put all thoughts of ending the world aside. Whatever had happened had been fixed, and the only difference now was that he knew what had been, could have been? What was had happened or hadn’t but could have, and did?  
He groaned again. Timey-wimey.  
At first he had laughed at the term from doctor who, but honestly now that his life did involve time travel and dimensions, he understood exactly what it meant. Much easier to just say timey-wimey than trying to explain an event that had happened but not here, but it was here but not in this dimension, but it had been him but not this version of himself... but it was him. And ugh he was getting caught up trying to explain it again.  
Taking another calming breath, he double checked he looked like himself, this version in this timeline, right now, and headed out.  
***  
Marinette did love being up early. She hated waking up and if given the option she would have of course chosen to sleep in. But she did love the quiet of morning. The air still chilled from the night, birds had only started singing, and the roads were still mostly clear.  
But today she couldn’t appreciate it. After slowing down she had made herself that half-hour late. And it wasn’t just Ayla she was missing out on time with. She was missing out on spending time with Nino and Adrien too.  
After her adventure with Bunnix to fight an akumatized Chat Noir she was working more towards giving up on her crush on Adrien. She knew it’d be slow, but if he couldn’t keep her Ladybug secret, there wasn’t a future with him. It hurt. But it was for the best. It also meant she could focus on being a better friend to the lonely boy. She just had to figure out how to explain this to Ayla or her well-meaning best friend would keep pushing her into scenarios with him.  
Thinking about Adrien telling someone that she was Ladybug did hurt. Even if she hadn’t told him and couldn’t have explained that it was a secret identity, she had thought it’d been obvious that the superheroes didn’t want it to be public knowledge. Of all the people she knew she thought Adrien would have understood that well. He was in the public eye, and had shown that he did not enjoy the attention as plenty of other people did. So he should have understood that she would want to remain a secret superhero.  
Marinette tried not to be hurt by Adrien’s actions of another life. She knew it was a big secret, and she didn’t know much about what had actually happened. But it did cause her to wonder if she actually knew him. Imagining him telling people he knew who Ladybug was and who that was didn’t seem like something he would do, but Marinette also could recognize the pedestal she’d been keeping him on. It wasn’t a secret she’d kept from herself but she did wish that it hadn’t crumbled so quickly. She had always imagined that it would get lower and lower, maybe a trip would take a bit off, him answering a question wrong in class would lower the pedestal more, until eventually they would be on equal footing. Marinette hadn’t expected the perfect image she had of him to crumble... along with the world.  
She shook herself out of her own head. These were things she had already thought through, over thought about and had discussed with Tikki over a few nights. And now was time for studying for an upcoming test at school not contemplating the folly of man and her changing world view.  
They agreed to meet in front of the school and make their way to a café, Ayla and her had already planned which café, foreseeing Marinette being late as her usual. If it wasn’t sleeping in it was an early Akuma or some other minor accident. Marinette had long ago given up trying to explain away every late-arrival. At first it had been annoying and stressful trying to come up with white lies and half-truths to explain her lateness, especially when she had been fighting butterfly villains. But after being late had become her normal she didn’t have to explain her delays and life became that little bit easier.  
When Marinette had made it to the café she hovered in the front door, trying to spot her group. When she did they were all laughing, and smiling. She was sorry to have missed the moment herself, but seeing that they were all there, and were all in good moods gave her a genuine smile as she made her way over to join them.  
***  
A study session with his friends was exactly what Adrien needed. It took him out of his head some, and seeing two of his closest friends laughing at dumb jokes and living a normal life, even after having been supervillains for a day eased him that even if he had ended the world in a timey-wimey reality, it hadn’t really been him.  
His mood since this morning had greatly improved. The darker thoughts reminded him this was good because if he wasn’t in a good mood then he’d be akumatized and destroy the world. But he focused on his friends, and on the fact he could order whatever he wanted to eat. Which he did, waiting for Marinette they had agreed to hold off on studying till she got there. After having study sessions together before they all knew she wouldn’t be too late, and being able to focus on breakfast and catching up let them focus on studying afterwards.  
The waiter was bringing up Adrien’s third round of breakfast pastries when Marinette did finally arrive, which meant it was almost time to start studying in earnest. After all they had had thirty minutes to catch up, Marinette needed time to settle in herself and order what she wanted, which turned out to be her usual simple hot chocolate. And as usual, she snuck a few of her parents baked goods onto the table for them all to share. Adrien eagerly grabbed a few to add onto his plate. The first time she had brought food from home he had wondered if that was a normal teenager thing to do, but after eating them he understood. He was happy to eat any type of pastry, but Marinette’s parents did have the best bakery in Paris for a reason.


	4. Time to Tell | 4

Adrien was still stuffing himself full of various breakfast foods when they finished the study worksheet they’d been given to complete. Surrounded by friends, homework finished, and belly full, never had he understood Plagg more than in that moment. Why did he need to worry about any of this time travel business, he couldn’t stop any of it, it would have happened already. And apparently if anything did go terribly wrong there was a time traveling superhero that was keeping an eye out. Was this how all the rest of Paris felt? All the danger was scary but he wasn’t the one to fix it, he just had to do his own part to not be a terrible person, and if there was danger do his best to help set it right. It was nice.  
And then it wasn’t.  
The peaceful mood was shattered as people started streaming by the windows, some glancing back towards the danger, others focused only on getting as far away from the action as possible.  
Adrien sighed. There went any ‘not my problem’ feelings, because the everyday akumas definitely were his problem. But he wouldn’t change that for the world.  
***  
Marinette inwardly groaned as the panic became more and more clearly an akuma. Alya grabbed her phone and left the three of them at their table, they could see her through the window fighting against the current of people, arms holding her phone towards the action above the crowd. Nino got up after her, he left a few bills to cover their breakfast and slowly followed. The first few times he had been with Alya he had tried racing after her to keep her safe, but seeing the crowd holding her almost in the same spot, and having done this who knows how many times, Nino knew he didn’t have to work very hard to catch up to her, so he didn’t.  
Marinette and Adrien still hadn’t figured out the best way to easily slip away from their groups. They both separately were grateful that Alya always ran after the akumas, it terrified them that she was so close to the danger but it did make one less person trying to drag them further away for safety. And ever since Alya and Nino had gone fully official it kept Nino with her too. But they hadn’t figured out how to tell each other to get to safety, but not join them. Adrien wondered if telling Marinette he was Chat Noir would be a good move.  
Ladybug had brought up telling someone. And it hurt to think it might be someone romantic for her, or someone that she obviously considered closer too than himself. But Adrien assumed if she got a confidant he should too. So after the world ender panic had passed he had thought of who to tell. His father or Nathalie had come to mind, trying to explain why he was late to shoots would become easier. But explaining there was an akuma that messed with traffic or plans was easy enough. And Adrien couldn’t be sure that instead of helping him get to the action faster, that they’d lock down all exit points and keep him trapped within his room. So he’d decided not any of his guardians. Which left his friends. Chloe had been his first thought, but even as his oldest friend she was barely a thought before he decided against confiding about his superhero side in her. Then of course there was Nino, a stable friend would definitely be a nice way to think through the craziness that was obvious; but he doubted he’d be able to keep that he knew who Chat Noir was from Alya. Alya was a reporter, with a dedicated blog devoted to figuring out his and Ladybug’s identity, and she was good at it. Before Adrien had accepted he didn’t want to find out who Ladybug was under the mask unless she was the one to tell him he had been one of the Ladyblogs top viewers after all.  
Which had left him to think about Marinette. He thought he knew her well enough that she could keep a secret, even from Alya. After all he’d met with her often enough as Chat Noir and it hadn’t made an appearance on the Ladyblog or anywhere else. And with Alya and Nino running after akumas he was almost always left alone with Marinette, her knowing would make life easier. But he felt a bit guilty using her as an excuse if she wasn’t his first choice.  
Marinette was having similar thoughts; she had decided her parents. After seeing an apocalypse, she wanted to be sure if something ever did happen to Ladybug, they would know that’s where their daughter had disappeared too. That way they wouldn’t spend the rest of their lives looking for who had stolen their daughter away. And it would be easy enough then to tell them that she wasn’t always studying or working on school projects. She only had to worry that they’d be upset and try to stop her. And of course she wished she could bring her friends into her secret life. But putting them in danger just so she didn’t have to lie as much really wasn’t a good enough reason for her to put that on them all.  
She knew that if she ever wanted a serious boyfriend she would have to tell him too. Which was why she wanted to give up on Adrien. She knew for a fact he had let her secret out, and she couldn’t tell all but one of her friends either. So it would be easiest to just… not. But she was tired of keeping such a big part of her life to herself. And she wanted to be able to talk through problems with more than just Tikki. Tikki was great and wise but she wasn’t human, which normally wasn’t an issue but sometimes it was. Not at any specific time but when she’d be upset, it felt talking to Tikki was closer to talking to her pillow or writing in her diary than trying to vent frustrations to a friend.


End file.
